The news is led again today by the uproar over $165 million in bonuses to executives at AIG, the insurance giant that has been given more than $170 billion in emergency aid from the federal government. As USA TODAY reports, lawmakers and top officials in the Obama administration are looking to "recoup the money either by imposing stiff new taxes on the extra pay or
requiring the company to return it in exchange for future taxpayer aid."

Edward Liddy, AIG's chairman, is due at a House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing in Washington at 10 a.m. ET. As Politico says, he's stepping into "the public maelstrom."

We'll have a few more links to other AIG-related stories in a moment.

President Obama is headed to California. He's due at a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa this evening and will spend the night in Los Angeles. Tomorrow, he'll record an appearance on NBC-TV's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It airs Thursday evening at 11:35 p.m. ET.

Also today, Federal Reserve officials wrap up two days of policy-making meetings.

As for what's making news, and more on AIG, the stories include:

-- CBS News -- In first post-White House speech, Bush avoids criticizing Obama: "I'm not going to spend my time criticizing him. There are plenty of critics in the arena. ... He deserves my silence,"
former president George W. Bush said to a paying audience in Calgary. "Bush declined to critique
the Obama administration in his first speech since leaving office in
January. Former vice president Dick Cheney has said that Obama's
decisions threatened America's safety."

(Photo: A Calgary police officer and a protester dressed as a "Gitmo" prisoner. By Todd Korol of Reuters.)

-- The Washington Post -- "Republicans are howling" over administration's move to push key initiatives through: "Senior members of the Obama administration are pressing lawmakers to use a shortcut to drive the president's signature initiatives on health care and energy through Congress without Republican votes, a move that many lawmakers say would fly in the face of President Obama's pledge to restore bipartisanship to Washington. Republicans are howling about the proposal to expand health coverage and tax greenhouse gas emissions without their input, warning that it could irrevocably damage relations with the new president."

-- Politico -- Race relations have not been a much-discussed subject for Obama: In the year since he gave an intensely watched speech about race relations, "through campaign and convention, election and inauguration ... Barack Obama hasn't taken part in the discussion of race in America in any sustained way, the way he did that day in Philadelphia to get out of a campaign jam."

-- The Washington Post -- Obama said to have not known about bonuses until late last week: "Senior White House officials said last night that President Obama did not learn that bonuses worth $165 million were to be paid to executives of American International Group until Thursday, one day before they were issued and two days after his Treasury secretary was informed that the payments were going forward."

-- The Huffington Post (liberal) -- Sen. Wyden says effort to block bonuses was killed in Congress: "Senator Ron Wyden said on Tuesday that the furor surrounding AIG's bonus payments could have been avoided had the Obama White House and members of Congress simply backed legislation that he and Sen. Olympia Snowe introduced more than a month ago. In an interview with the Huffington Post, the Oregon Democrat noted that during the crafting of the stimulus package, he and his Republican colleague from Maine introduced a provision that would have forced bailout recipients to cap their bonuses at $100,000. Any amount paid above that would have been taxed at 35%. The language made it through the Senate, but during conference committee with the House, it was inexplicably removed."

-- The Washington Times -- Commerce nominee did legal work for companies doing business in China: "Commerce secretary nominee Gary Locke, whose job would include approving sensitive exports to China, has performed legal work for companies doing business with Beijing and was forced to refund several political donations that he received in the 1990s from key figures in a Chinese influence-buying investigation. The former Washington state governor is expected to face questions about both issues during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday (10 a.m. ET), Senate aides and an Obama administration official familiar with the vetting told The Washington Times."

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About David Jackson

David's journalism career spans three decades, including coverage of five presidential elections, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 2000 Florida presidential recount and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the White House for USA TODAY since 2005. His interests include history, politics, books, movies and college football -- not necessarily in that order. More about David